The Greatness of Rimfire
by Leo the Tiger
Summary: Rimfire proves instrumental in thwarting the latest of Hairball's threats.


The Greatness of Rimfire

"Which way now?" asked Rimfire as he stealthfully crept his way through the secret fortress Hairball and his Clawtroopers were carefully guarding. With Cataclysm dead (from an explosion while trying to take over Mars with the Regenerator), Hairball was having to step up to the plate. So, he set up a fortress that could serve as protection while he searched for the Regenerator. Stoker, however, managed to crack the entry code to the fortress that Hairball set up. But with the Biker Mice preoccupied with Limburger, he recruited Rimfire for the job, and Rimfire was more than the right mouse to do it. Right now, Rimfire was looking for more green and yellow tetrahydrocarbons, the power source that could make the Regenerator rechargeable (it also stopped Stoker from turning into that rat-like creature).

"Okay," said Stoker. "I've located you on my radar, and you're very close to the main hall. Just don't step on any cracks on the floor. They contain secret switches which will set off the alarms."

"Gotcha," Rimfire replied, proceeding to take that very caution. "Do you happen to know how Hairball got a hold of these?"

"No, I don't, but I do know that if he gets his way, he'll turn the tetrahydrocarbons into something similar to that criptonitroglycerite stuff that harms SUPERCAT. He came from a solar system with a blue sun."

"So the sun's yellow color in this one gives him his powers?"

"Yes. It'll give anybody from his world those kinds of powers."

"I see. Okay, I'm through the main hall, and am at a set of lasers."

"Break those beams and you'll set off the alarms."

"I can get past them easily." Rimfire continued to creep through the fortress, taking every step of safety necessary to survive. Whether this mission was a success or failure, his survival was priority number one, especially for his uncle Modo's sake.

And speaking of Modo, he, Throttle, and Vinnie had arrived back at the Last Chance Garage Charley was running now that her sister owned the one in Chicago. Charley was the first to notice their return. "Hey, guys," she greeted. "How'd the mission go?"

"Sweet," said Throttle. "We totaled Limburger's tower—again. Felt like getting hot dogs and root beer to celebrate."

"Well, you'll have to put that on hold," Charley replied. "I'm kind of busy right now, but not with repairs. You see, Stoker recruited Rimfire on a mission to find more tetrahydrocarbons for his Regenerator, and Rimfire's inside Hairball's new fortress."

"Rimfire?" Modo exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked!"

"Oh, sorry, Charley, ma'am. I guess I'm just paranoid. But I shouldn't be. Rimfire's a great nephew, and a courageous one, too." The Mice walked over to the computer Stoker was using with Charley watching close by.

"Stoker, bro!" Vinnie greeted heartily. "How it's going?"

"Oh, just great," said Stoker. "Rimfire's doing an excellent job so far. He's still got a ways to go, but speed is less important than accuracy." Everyone watched with intensity as Rimfire made his way under the lasers and over to the next room, where another security system code device was installed with a flashing red light. "Okay, Rimfire," Stoker called. "Hang on for a second while I look for the next code. And don't set off an alarm if you're close to one."

"Gotcha, Stoker," Rimfire replied. "I don't think I am close to an alarm."

Stoker switched to a different screen and typed Rimfire's coordinates into the system, looking for a new code to send to his agent. After about five minutes, the code came up. "I found it," Stoker announced. "6-2-1-3-5-6-4-3. An odd pattern of numbers compared the other ones I've seen before, but if that what Hairball wants, that's what Rimfire's going to get." He switched back to Rimfire. "Rimfire, the code is 6-2-1-3-5-6-4-3."

"6-2-1-3-5-6-4-3," Rimfire repeated aloud, typing in the code as he said each number. The door opened after the flashing red turned green, revealing the green and yellow tetrahydrocarbons Stoker needed. "Bingo!" Rimfire exclaimed. "It's here!"

"What a rush! He got it!" Vinnie shouted after laughing his signature triumphant laugh.

"That's my nephew!" Modo smiled.

"Sweet," Throttle added. "Stoker, you're in business, bro. I hope these will be enough."

"They should be, and at least I'm not turning into the rat-like beast anymore. As you now know, whenever I'm surrounded by these green and yellow tetrahydrocarbons did a permanent override of the red ones, so instead of turning into the rat beast, I gain superpowers. Not bad for an old-timer, eh?"

"I don't think of you as an old-timer, bro," Vinnie replied. "I think of you as experienced. A while back when we talked to Captain Grimalken and the SWAT Kats at Bob's Burgers, he mentioned he had similar feelings."

"Did he? Well, his case is different; it was the villain's accident that gave him his youth back. In my case, it's these tetrahydrocarbons." Stoker turned back to the computer. "Rimfire, are you gathering the tetrahydrocarbons yet?"

"I've just finished. All I have to do now is get out. Hopefully I won't set any alarms off, or will I?"

"The bad news is you will, but there is hope. If you can make it safely through like you did before when you came in, the worst that can happen is that when you finally exit the fortress and flee for your life, the alarms will only go off then."

"I can do that," Rimfire smiled. And that was no lie; Rimfire was out of there in a flash. Even though the alarms did go off, Rimfire was on his bike and halfway home before Hairball finally got the word and urge to scream, "Clawtroopers! GET HIM!"

"Hey!" Modo exclaimed in delight when Rimfire came back with the tetrahydrocarbons. "You've made your uncle proud!"

"Oh, thanks, Uncle Modo," Rimfire replied. "But I'm more concerned with getting these to safety. The Clawtroopers almost had me at one point and I had to call for a diversion using the last of my missiles."

"That's okay," Throttle assured him. "We'll take it from here. Battle mode, bros! It's time to ROCK…"

"…and RIDE!" everyone shouted, running to their bikes, gunning the engines, and racing onto the streets. Charley and Stoker watched with the excitement of a cheerleader jumping for joy as her school's football team scored a touchdown.

The resulting battle did result in a couple of witnesses: SUPERCAT and Leo the Patriotic Lion, the city's top two die-hard Americans, who were watching from the roof of Leo's house with binoculars. "Yep. There go those Biker Mice off to war again," Leo announced. "I honor those patriots. Such a noble sacrifice in their fight to protect Mars. Wonder if they could've used your help?"

"Their enemies are cats," said SUPERCAT, "so it would be fighting fire with fire, which I am no good at."

"Oh. Well, still think we should congratulate them when the battle's won?"

"I don't see why not." The two continued to watch as Throttle used his battle gloves, Modo used his bionic arm, and Vinnie, well, improvised. Rimfire followed at a distance and served as backup if needed. One by one, the Clawtroopers fell to their doom, and Hairball kept sending out two for every one fallen to continue the battle. On several occasions, tons of Clawtroopers fell out of line at once, bringing the police to call out every unit and apprehend them before they could get up and continue fighting.

"GET THEM! GET ALL OF THEM! WHY CAN'T ANYBODY GET ME RID OF THESE PESTS?" Hairball bellowed when it all got to be a little too much. "I may have an unlimited supply of Clawtroopers, but this whole thing is in vain if I keep going. RETREAT! RETREAT!"

"Don't move, Hairball!" Throttle suddenly bellowed with the authority of a drill sergeant.

"Or it's LIGHTS OUT!" Modo added, showing his glowing eye and arm.

"Oh, what's the problem, bubby?" Vinnie taunted, grabbing the commander by the nose. "Haven't been out to the litter box in a week?" He laughed his signature laugh and threw the shocked commander towards David Crackshot, Sheriff of Battlefield Range, Wildcat City's most prosperous sub-city (it also had Cat's Granby, Dingopolis, Horseshoeville, and Quartzburg, among a few others).

"Attaboy, Vinnie!" SUPERCAT exclaimed from the roof of Leo's house. "Give it to him!"

"Show that psycho the true power of the USA!" Leo echoed.

And that's just what the Biker Mice did. SUPERCAT and Leo jumped off the roof to go congratulate them. Leo jumped in his Patriotmobile while SUPERCAT launched himself into the stratosphere.

Vinnie laughed again and shouted, "On Throttle! On Modo! On Biker Mice, ALL!"

"Heh, heh," Throttle chuckled. "We did it, bros! Stoker's got his tetrahydrocarbons, Hairball's in jail, and best of all, I noticed Ronaldo Rump's crib is also totaled! That's going to shave his hiney butt good!"

The group headed over to Bob's Burgers, where they previously encountered the SWAT Kats and Captain Grimalken, for some hot dogs and root beer. SUPERCAT and Leo beat them to it, however, but the Mice didn't care. They figured the best battles fought always have witnesses.

Rimfire seemed to get the most appreciation from Leo when he learned what had happened. "You've got the makings of a superb master spy, son," he commented. "When the U.S. Military needs that kind of action while defending our homeland from enemies, I think they now know who they're going to call!"

"You've got the makings of a G-52, I might add," SUPERCAT added. "I'd recruit you, but I understand your loyalty to Mars and how General Carbine might consider you a traitor."

"She definitely would think that," Rimfire agreed. "I wasn't sure if I was going to get out of it alive, but I did."

"You the mouse!" Vinnie smiled, giving Rimfire a friendly slap on the back.

"Give your old uncle a high five, Rimfire!" Modo echoed, giving his nephew a high five. Everybody had a right to be proud of Rimfire, and Rimfire had a right to proud of himself, his uncle, and his best friends. Leo didn't bother to proclaim a Rimfire a public hero for his sake, but being the composer he was, he did whip up a Sousa-style march in Rimfire's honor.

THE END

* * *

_Biker Mice From Mars © Rick Ungar, Tom Tataranowicz, Tom Tataranowicz Animation, Brentwood Television Funnies, and whoever else owns the rights  
SWAT Kats © Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros.  
SUPERCAT and Leo the Patriotic Lion © me_


End file.
